What triggers my curiosity is where this word originated and how it has evolved over time to come to what it means in today's society.  The first use of the word scrub appeared in the 14th century as a Middle English alteration of schrobbe shrub.  During this time era, scrub was used as a noun with it's definition referring to "a stunted tree or shrub, vegetation consisting chiefly of scrubs, and a tract covered with scrub" ("Scrub" Merriam-Webster Dictionary).  According to The Oxford English Dictionary scrub ultimately originated in Australia and  New Zealand.  Also during this time period scrub was also used to distinguish a breed of small sized cattle.  The meaning of scrub also came to mean "an animal of inferior breed or pedigree" ("Scrub" The Oxford English Dictionary).  Scrub also held the meaning of "a person of insignificant size or standing" ("Scrub" Merriam-Webster Dictionary).  Lastly in the 1800s, scrub was acknowledged in sports as  "a player not belonging to the first string" ultimately getting its definition from 16th century British slang (Chapman, "Scrub" Merriam-Webster Dictionary).

      In the late 1500s the word scrub was beginning to get used as a verb.  This usage of the word is of low German or Scandinavian origin.  It was used interchangeably with the words scour, rub, and wash ("Scrub" Merriam-Webster Dictionary).  For example, instead of saying, "I washed the floor" the word washed would be eliminated and replaced with scrubbed, "I scrubbed the floor."

      Just as the word evolved over time, gaining different meanings and having different parts of speech, the word scrub has took on some slang meanings.  In the late 17th century to the early 18th century scrub was used as slang meaning someone "who does not pay their share of the tavern bill" (Green).  During the 18th century scrub started to be used to call "a low-class prostitute" (Green).  Another slang usage of scrub started in the 1940s in the United States.  It was often heard that something was scrubbed, or canceled.  Again in the 1980's US campuses added to the slang usage of scrub.  One usage was used as a noun referring to "a failure, a dirty or unpleasant person" (Green).  Today this word is still refers to people of this character.  The second usage created was as a verb meaning to fail.  Even the military was able to incorporate a slang meaning out of scrub.  In the military "a flight cancellation" was often referred to as a scrub (Green).

      To further see how scrub's meaning has evolved over the generations, I sought out the help from family and friends of different ages and genders to see what their definitions of the word are.  Of the three males I talked to, all of their definitions of the word were based on cleaning (Lashinsky I., Todd D., Todd J.).  On the otherhand, out of the three females that I asked the same question, two out of the three responded:  a man that is lazy and takes advantage of a woman.  The two who responded this way were of a middle and younger generation (Bolish, Byers).  While the older woman responded to the question just as the males (Lashinsky J.).  Through this experiment I was able to observe the trend in the popularity of this slang word among middle-aged and young women.  It appears that the slang usage of scrub has increased in women's vocabulary as meaning:  a lazy no good man.

      When looking back on the history of the word scrub, scrub has always seemed to have held a negative connotation.  Either it being a dictionary definition:  "a person of insignificant size or standing" ("Scrub" Webster's New American Dictionary) or slang:  "a failure, a dirty or unpleasant person" (Green).  I believe it is these negative meanings that helped to create the slang word used in the lyrics of TLC's song "No Scrubs."  Along with its negative connotation, I also believe this word was created out of the attempt to emphasize multiple undesirable characteristics that some guys possess.  These characteristics include the qualities of a bum (a lazy person) and a player (a guy that is not committed to a relationship).  Thus, the word scrub was created in order to emphasize males that possess these undesirable quality.  In my opinion it sounds not only better, but also concise to say "He is such a scrub!"  rather than "He is such a bum!" or "He is such a player!"  The word scrub is able to capture both of these meanings making the connotation of the word even sound worse than a bum or a player.  Another possible reason for the creation of this word is for woman to express their views of the opposite sex.  Scrub acts just like the word slut, which encompasses mostly male vocabulary to call a female who sleeps around.  Thus, scrub and slut are similarly used in that they both describe qualities of a certain sex.

     Since this slang words meaning is about men, you can accurately assume that this word does not encompass male vocabulary.  Also this word would not be mentioned in the presence of a male.  The most likely people to use this word are women conversing with women.  Especially, in the situation of an all girls night out.  I recently noticed myself and my female friends using this word somewhat frequently.  We tend to use this word to describe a guy that takes and takes, but is not willing to give.  Also we use this word to describe a guy that uses you.  For example, my ex-boyfriend who just stuck around so he could tell his buddies he had a girl.  Then there is my other ex-boyfriend, who was the bum and would not even get a job and expected everyone else pay for him.

      In conclusion, many women have captured this word into their language due to the powerful lyrics in TLC's song "No Scrubs."  With the increased popularity of this word and the increased number of scrubs in our society, I believe that Standard English has enough room to add another definition to the term scrub.  With that in mind, I have to agree with TLC, "I don't want no scrub!"